Body recovered from Fox Glacier

Recovery experts brought the body of a person off of Fox Glacier, where it has lain for many years. Photo/Supplied

The body of a person found on Fox Glacier last week has been recovered by authorities this afternoon.

Police confirmed about 12.30pm that the operation had gone smoothly.

Sergeant Mathew Tailby, the search and rescue co-ordinator on the West Coast, said the body was now being taken to Christchurch for a post-mortem examination and formal identification.

"Favourable weather conditions meant the recovery team were able to land the helicopter very close to the scene and recover the body with no complications,'' Tailby said.

Authorities carried out the operation after the remains of a person were discovered in a crevasse last week.

Tailby said the operation started on Fox Glacier this morning to bring the body out of the mountains where it had been for "some time."

A team including two police victim-identification experts, two LandSAR volunteers and an iwi representative had travelled to Fox from Greymouth and had been flown to the remote scene.